They All Look So Harmless
by Mychelle in a Wonderland
Summary: Mandy Slade could see that her marriage with Brian was slowly falling apart, but she couldn't find in herself the energy to give up what she and Brian worked so hard to built, so she starts to search for a new role in Brian's life. / Brian/Mandy, Brian/Curt, Mandy/Brian/Curt, Mandy/Female OC


**Disclaimer:** Velvet Goldmine belongs to Todd Haynes and other people, and I am not among them. This story was made only for fun; I didn't receive anything for it.

**Summary: **Mandy Slade could see that her marriage with Brian was slowly falling apart, but she couldn't find in herself the energy to give up what she and Brian worked so hard to built, so she starts to search for a new role in Brian's life.

**Ships:** Brian/Curt, Mandy/Brian, Mandy/Brian/Curt, Mandy/Original Female Character

**Warnings: **A lotof sex - threesome (F/M/M), gay sex and lesbian sex, oral sex, anal sex, vaginal sex, rimming, some curse words, etc etc

**A.N.:** English is not my native language, and I should tell you before anything that I wrote this without a beta reader. So, if you want to read, be aware that the following text may have terrible grammatical mistakes. If you see some terrible mistake and wants to warn me, I would gladly accept grammatical tips!

Some months ago, I received the prompt _"Mandy Slade has seen the writing on the wall the physical side of her marriage to Brian is a thing of the past. But she is not giving up her "Slade life style" so if she has to step into the self appointed role of fairy godmother in order to keep Jerry and Shannon's attempts at manipulations and power plays from breaking up Brian and Curt so be it...Mandy would be a much better manager than Jerry or Shannon anyway;)"._

I'm afraid that my muse didn't do any good about Shannon and Jerry's attempts of breaking up Curt and Brian, and it's much more a meta fanfiction of Mandy than anything else.

**Rated: ** M for explicit sex (m/m).

**Chapters:** One, complete.

**X_X_X**

**They All Look So Harmless**

_By Mychelle in a Wonderland_

**X_X_X**

There are several things that Mandy Slade is (or at least was, once upon a time); Mandy is an outgoing person, who talks too loud, and would frequently embarrass other people; Mandy is a woman full of dreams, and ordinary ambitions; and maybe, a long time ago, Mandy might even have been innocent.

But, contrasting with what most people around her used to think, Mandy was, above all, a very intelligent woman.

Oh, she knew what the others thought; that she was glued with Brian only for the fame, because she saw him and knew that he would shine and she could keep some of this brightness to herself, and that she had not any talents or any practical ways to do what she wanted. She was perfectly aware about what the others, even her friends, thought of her.

They were wrong.

She would never say that Brian just reached success because of her; it would be a lie, and a terribly arrogant one. Brian was smart, and handsome and talented; he wasn't made to stay out of the spotlights for too long. However, she did know that she was the first person to be at Brian's side, the first one to help him to initiate his career, to share his dreams for the future.

She knew that Brian could replace her one day, but she tried to not worry too much about it; she would rather think that it didn't matter how many people Brian shagged, how many adventures he had, that he would always have a special connection with her – that maybe a small part of him would always love her -, the one who was there for him since the beginning.

What did worry her were the people around Brian – or more specifically, Jerry. He looked at Brian as if he was a slice of meat that he was going to use in whatever way he needed to extract all the money that he could, and Brian's disdain in dealing with financial and bureaucratic business only made Mandy's affliction increase.

Also, the fact that he spent all the time that he wasn't singing and fucking using coke obsessively didn't help matters. Mandy wasn't a prude in any sense of the word; more often than not, she would spend a night completely drunk or shoving cocaine up her nose just like Brian, but his level of dependency was starting to scare her.

But for the time being, Mandy thought that it was better for her to remain in the shadows and see how the situation progressed.

**X_X_X**

The moment that Mandy noticed that Brian didn't love her anymore (if he ever loved her at all) was when she was having sex with him. More specifically, sex with him and Curt Wild.

She was in their bed, in her back and against the headboard; Brian was in front of her, inside of her. Brian was kneeling, his arms grasping Mandy's shoulders in an almost painful hold, and Mandy's legs were around Brian's back and reaching Curt's body, that was positioned behind Brian.

That wasn't the first time that Brian and Mandy shared their bed with other people by far; Mandy lost the count about how many threesomes and orgies she and Brian engaged in since they had met each other, so, there wasn't any reason for this to feel any different than the other times.

However... it did felt different.

Mandy moaned rhythmically with the movements inside her, trying to contract her inner muscles to increase the friction, and she wanted to ask Brian to go faster, but it wasn't really Brian that was moving but Curt; Brian looked like a boneless creature in the middle of them, being rocked back and forth with the rough movements of Curt inside him.

She almost felt as if she was being personally fucked by Curt Wild.

Between the passion waves, she took time to observe Curt; she could see why Brian was so fascinated with him. He was like a force of nature, beautiful and unconquerable, and in the middle of sex, he seemed to be in his natural habitat. There wasn't any hesitation in his thrusts, neither gentleness; by the way that Brian was moaning and writhing, she knew that it wasn't just pleasure that Brian was feeling, but pain too. Curt's hands were holding Brian's hips tightly, and she could feel the heat of his hands under her thighs. As Curt was thrusting into Brian, she could feel Brian's engorged cock inside her, and even with Brian's inactivity, the friction was too much for her.

Throwing her head back against the headboard, she closed her eyes and came, feeling her body writhe.

When she stopped feeling the aftershocks, she noticed that Brian had lost his grip in her shoulders, but was still hard inside her, and now that she had already reached her orgasm, the sensitivity was unpleasant. Curt, even lost as he was in his own pleasure, seemed to notice her discomfort and stopped his movements, making Brian whimper in protest. He started to pull Brian back and looked at Mandy, and she just gave him a relieved smile, and soon enough Brian wasn't inside her anymore.

When Curt pulled Brian completely off her, he startled Mandy by lifting Brian and throwing him in his back in the other side of the bed. Brian opened his eyes with the shock, but Curt didn't give him time to react, spreading his legs and penetrating him again.

Mandy watched everything wide eyed, fascinated and more than a little aroused; she thought that Curt was being rough before, but the way that he was fucking Brian now was completely savage. And Brian...

Brian had his legs around Curt's waist, and his hands were grasping the sheets, as he alternated long moans with incoherent words, murmuring and begging _CurtYesPleaseMoreHarderohCurtohCuurtPleeease_...

Hearing Brian's desperate requests, Curt grunted and tried to fuck him faster; the bed shook with the strength of his efforts, and Brian threw his arms around Curt's back, his hands squeezing his muscles, holding tight onto Curt.

Curt gave one more powerful thrust into Brian, and what seemed to be a very hard slap in his ass, and Brian came with a scream, his entire body twitching in a way that would probably make his muscles ache later.

The sensation was obviously too much for Curt and he came too, because his body suddenly went still and he let himself fall on top of Brian. Mandy stared at them, feeling incredibly awkward; it was her house, her bed, her husband, but she felt as if she was the strange one there.

But it was only when Curt raised his head and Brian opened his eyes and smiled at him, one of his hands playing with his hair as he softly said "Curt", a calm smile and such an open look in his face, that Mandy got off the bed in a hurry, saying that she needed a shower, even thinking that neither of them was paying any attention in what she said.

Brian couldn't have been clearer if he had said in that moment that he loved Curt.

**X_X_X**

Once in the bathroom, Mandy locked the door and turned on the shower, letting the hot water fall down, and Sat on the floor, feeling the warmth of the steam, but not remaining under the water.

She bit her lip, hard. She wouldn't cry; she wouldn't let herself do it, because it would be stupid.

Yes, she and Brian always had a mutual understanding, where they could sleep with as many people as they wanted, together or apart, but that in the end they would always come back to each other, and she always assumed that it was the truth.

But still, it wasn't a complete surprise; she and Brian were together for years, but they weren't anymore that couple of dreamers of the beginning. And Curt...

Brian always was fascinated by Curt, since that first time where he saw him in that concert; Mandy remembered that she used to laugh at him, because he really behaved like a fanboy, trying to get his hands in anything related to Curt Wild. She remembered that one day she even caught Brian cutting out an interview from a magazine, like a teenager. He blushed immediately, and Mandy still used that information to tease him.

But she always thought that was just it; just a crush in a distant idol, the same way that one would fall in love for a movie star. Desired, but untouchable. And when they really met Curt, she thought that they would shag like rabbits, but it wouldn't be anything more serious than mutual lust. Certainly nothing like the look that she saw in Brian's face just minutes ago.

It might look like and exaggeration, but Mandy knew Brian very well, much more than he probably imagined. She knew how easy it was for him to lie and manipulate everyone around him with his elegant charm; she knew that even she was fooled like that more than once. Brian was always wearing some kind of mask, and even in the freedom of sex, there was always something that he tried to hide and keep to himself.

But seeing him look at Curt like that, there wasn't any doubt in Mandy's mind. There wasn't any reservation in that look, any disguise or mask; that was a vulnerable look, with Brian being completely sincere with someone, maybe for the first time in his life.

She wondered if Curt noticed that.

Shaking her head, she stretched her legs, letting the hot water flow between them; the sensation was calming, and she felt that she need to seriously reconsider some aspects of her future.

The hard truth was, Brian didn't need her. Of course, if he got a divorce now, it would maybe enrage some fans; Mandy made herself loved between the fans. But even so, Brian was the artist; any resentment would be forgotten with a new album or a new scandal.

_Besides_, Mandy thought bitterly, _the fans love Curt, too_.

She shook her head again, agitated; not even ten minutes ago she was having hot and intense sex with her husband and his lover, and now she was considering all the aspects of her life.

She bit her lip again, until she felt the taste of blood in her mouth; she didn't want to come back for the life that she had before. She never was as happy as she was in the last few years, and she didn't want to come back for what life was before Brian.

When she noticed her thoughts, she couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle; she just noticed that her husband didn't love her and didn't need her anymore and her first thought was that she didn't want to abandon the luxurious life that she had now.

_But god damn it, this isn't fair_, she thought; she was with Brian in every step, working hard to help him reach the place that he currently was, and now that they finally made it, now that they finally were in the place that they fought so hard to conquer, she would be put aside?

_No fucking way_.

She could contemplate life without Brian – she loved him, but part of her always knew that they probably wouldn't live together for too long. Brian didn't live very well with stability; he always needed changes in his life, and soon or later, Mandy knew that he would get tired of her.

What Mandy couldn't contemplate was coming back to her old ordinary life; she wouldn't give up her current life, she would find another way to remain in Brian's life.

Brightening herself up a little with the Idea, Mandy at last took her shower, relaxing and trying to not think too much about anything.

**X_X_X**

Now that Mandy was more centered in the ambient around her, she started to notice a whole new set of things – like Brian not noticing her withdrawal, or how many adulators Brian had around him, much more than she had previously noticed, but especially, the way that Jerry treated Brian.

It would be impossible to not notice before, of course; Jerry looked at Brian as if he was a child prodigy, the answer to all his financial problems. She did think it was strange before, but didn't care too much; she wasn't really paying attention to what her husband's manager was doing.

But now, she wished that she had paid more attention before.

There was something very odd about the way that Brian signed some papers, or the way that Jerry gave money to Brian. Brian didn't read the contracts; he only signed without a second thought, which wasn't at all like the man that she married years ago.

_Well, I suppose that excess of cocaine would disrupt your priorities._

Seeing that Brian wouldn't change his attitude so soon, Mandy started to secretly investigate the situation by herself, and what she found out made her feel very alarmed.

The tour and the record sales were being a big success - that much was obvious. Brian was the most adored star in the moment, and the profit that he was making outweighed by far his exorbitant spending.

However, in the paperwork, she could see that Brian was not earning not even a third part of what he should be earning, and that a good percent of this money was going right away to Jerry's pocket.

Mandy bit her lower lip, torn by her findings; she didn't know enough of money and legal issues to openly accuse Jerry, but even she could see that there was something very suspicious in those numbers.

Putting the papers aside, she went out of the empty office and resolved to walk and reflect about what she should do.

**X_X_X**

A week of reflections later proved itself to be completely useless to Mandy, because she still had not Idea about what she was supposed to do.

She thought a lot, and she isolated herself even more from everyone else; it was with disappointment that she noticed that Brian still didn't noticed her absence, and it was with surprise that she reacted when Curt was the only one who seemed to notice that she isn't around anymore and asked her if she was alright. Mandy wanted to laugh when faced with the irony of the situation, but Curt's gesture was kind, and she only thanked him and said that she was only tired.

The fact was that Mandy was still too much confused about what she learned and what to do with that knowledge, and the matter only got worse after a conversation with Jerry.

Mandy resolved to stay home that day, feeling too bored with everything around her to engage in any of her favourite activities. Without anything to do, she started to walk around the house and ended up in the office.

She stood for a few seconds in front of the door, trying to make a decision, until she opened the door and resolved to take a new look on the papers that had confused her so much just a few days ago.

Mandy had barely reached the fifth page when she heard a voice coming from behind her:

"Are you taking a liking for bureaucratic matters, Mandy?"

It was Jerry, looking at the papers in Mandy's hand with an extremely fake smile; Mandy didn't like the way that he was looking at her.

Putting the papers over the desk, she gave him a small, polite smile.

"Yeah, I was feeling a bit bored and I thought that I should try to learn something that I know nothing about, and my knowledge about bureaucracy is atrocious. When I had my first pub, that one where Brian did his first performances, I used to..."

"Learning is always an admirable hobby" – Jerry interrupted her, the fake smile still in his face "But I'm afraid that there's nothing much to see here, Mandy. Go have fun; you can let me take care of everything around here."

Mandy frowned at being faced with such a clear dismissal.

"It's no trouble, really. I was thinking about learning to do something useful, maybe give Brian a hand on this."

With slow steps, Jerry approached the desk and put the papers that Mandy was seeing in a drawer, and only then he turned to her.

"I'm serious, Mandy. Go have some fun. Let me handle the bureaucracy."

Jerry wasn't smiling anymore, and Mandy did her best to not assume an affronted expression as she left the office, feeling even more confused than before.

**X_X_X**

After the encounter with Jerry, Mandy didn't want to stay in home anymore. She put on some makeup and a better pair of shoes, and went to a much less popular pub than the ones that she now frequented. She was a bit famous now, but she couldn't compare her fame with Brian's fame; it wouldn't be hard for her to be unnoticed.

Her plan worked out just fine, and in the ten minutes that she was sat in the bar, nobody recognized her.

Twenty more minutes and two shots of tequila later, she was much more relaxed and she was already flirting with one of the women of the bar. She was a very pretty woman, with short dark hair and bright green eyes, one of the reasons that made Mandy flirt with her; she didn't want to be with someone that reminded her of Brian and his baby blue eyes.

Fifteen more minutes, and Mandy wasn't in the pub any longer; she was in a dirty and old bed of a cheap motel, the place where the girl – Suzie – took her. Mandy could have certainly suggested a better and cleaner place, but she was enjoying too much the anonymity and didn't want to spoil the moment.

But Mandy wasn't thinking about the secret pleasures of anonymity; she was thinking about more present pleasures, like Suzie's short hair against the sensitive skin of her pussy, and her tongue, licking her in places that made involuntary moans escape from her mouth.

She had forgotten how much better girls could eat out a woman, much more than any man. She didn't know exactly why – probably it was because they had a vagina too, so they knew how to get pleasure when you didn't had a penis – but it was always much more intense with women.

Giving herself to the pleasure, Mandy allowed that all the thoughts that were tormenting her during all those days slip from her mind; she allowed her mind to go blank and forget everything, except the tongue and hands of the woman between her legs.

With her clit being delicately sucked and feeling Suzie's long and thin fingers lightly penetrating her ass, Mandy came with a long moan, her orgasm a powerful relief to channel all those days of tension.

After some blissfully quiet post orgasmic moments, Mandy suddenly rose from the bed, startling Suzie in the process, and then rolled her over in the bed, putting her in all fours and using her hands to spread her ass cheeks, and putting her tongue against Suzie's entrance, and everything was muffled by Suzie's moans in the next minutes.

Mandy could feel Suzie's body trembling all over when she came, just with Mandy's mouth wantonly licking her asshole and some fingers positioned in just the right way in her vagina.

After everything, Suzie fell fast asleep, and Mandy remained wide awake, feeling way too sober for someone who had had so many shots of tequila.

And as the post orgasm sensations left her body, Mandy's mind started to run in circles once again.

She turned in the bed, seeing Suzie's large breasts, her tiny feet, and her tight and small butt; during some random night go to a cheap pub, leave with a handsome man or a beautiful woman and have a wonderful one night stand seemed like a nice routine, and Mandy could see herself doing it in her life.

But a routine like that being _all_her life? A life where she wouldn't have the luxury of doing things like spending hours immersed in her expensive tub to get rid of the smell of those filthy sheets that impregnated her body?

_No, I don't think so._

Turning in her side, Mandy closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to decide if she should sleep there or go home, when she had an idea that made a big smile light up her face, bringing a spark of hope and the best vision of the future that she could imagine in days.

Being careful to not wake Suzie – she didn't think it would be easy, the drinks and the orgasm seemed to have knocked her out – Mandy quietly used the room's telephone to call a number that she knew by heart.

"Hello? Oh, it's Mandy speaking, Mandy Slade. Darling, can you put me in contact with Jack? Thanks!"

**X_X_X**

Curt was furious. Not his usual kind of furious, the kind that everyone involved in Brian's life had seen at some point, the Curt-_I'm-gonna-kill-you-all-your-motherfuckers_-Wild, that would smash every single thing in front of him without giving a shit about prices or anything else. No, Curt was furious in a different way; he was very quiet.

It was weird to see him like that, and Mandy almost wished that he was furious in his common explosive way. There was something very dangerous about Curt's cold and silent anger.

Of course, it was all Brian's fault. Mandy didn't know what he did, but she could see that he was ignoring Curt and everyone else around, so it seemed obvious why Curt was like that.

He was sitting outside the house, smoking a cigarette and giving all the vibes of someone that didn't want to be bothered, but since Mandy was much calmer after her conversation and her plan with Jack, she was feeling a bit sorry for him and tried to risk talking to him.

Mandy had barely approached him when she heard Curt's voice, low and with barely contained fury.

"Go away. I don't want to talk with anyone."

Mandy only sighed; she already expected this kind of reception, so she carried on and sat beside him.

"Mandy, I really don't wanna hear a fucking thing right now. Just leave me the fuck alone." – Curt was visibly frustrated, and turned his back on her.

"No problems, sweetie"–Mandy said, softly–"We don't need to talk if you don't want to. But between you and me, I don't think I could stand one more minute inside that house. The mood is pretty heavy right now."

"_Don't_ call me _sweetie_," – Curt said, grimacing and seeming properly offended with the endearment – "You call Brian like that."

"I call everyone like that, Curt. It is part of what they expect me to be, the obnoxious and tawdry American, contrasting with Brian's elegant charm." – Mandy's voice was bitterer than she predicted; it seemed that her new found tranquility didn't close all her wounds when Brian was the subject.

Curt looked at Mandy with a little bit of surprise, and then gave a self depreciative chuckle.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. I'm the crazy ass American, the bonkers junkie beside his stoicism. I wonder if he does it on purpose, to appear more clever or some shit like that."

"We're talking about Brian," – Mandy gave a humorless laugh of her own – "Of course it's on purpose. He doesn't do anything without premeditated it first."

The expression in Curt's face seemed to get a bit sadder, but the emotion was so quickly that Mandy couldn't be sure if it was even there in the first place."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." – He admitted, softly.

Some moments of comfortable silence passed, until Mandy forced herself to talk once again.

"I don't know what he did, Curt, and knowing Brian it could have been absolutely anything..."

"You can say that again," – Curt interrupted her, sarcastically.

"Anything at all," – Mandy spoke again, glaring at Curt for the interruption – "But... this is just the way that he is. He doesn't always say things that he means."

"And just what the fuck I'm supposed to do, Mandy?" – Curt looked frustrated again – "Do I just bend in and take whatever his highness wants? I'm not one of his ball lickers, who do whatever the fuck he wants as soon as he snaps his fingers. I'm sorry, but I don't have to take this shit."

"I'm not telling you to stand it. Actually, I think you're absolutely right in saying no to him."

For the second time in the night, Curt looked at her in confusion, and Mandy couldn't help but laugh.

"Brian is almost like a child. He doesn't know how to take a 'no', but it doesn't mean that the others should not try to tell him so. And he... he really needs someone who will stand up to him, not someone who will spoil him and fulfil every single one of his wishes."

Curt kept listening, oddly silent.

"I know Brian for many and many years, Curt. He is a wonderful person, and it's hard to not fall for him. He can also be an incredibly selfish and cruel person. And... and I know that he never loved me, not really. Now I know it. I never saw him really love someone; I even doubted that he was truly capable. But when I see the way that he looks at you... I really think that he loves you. I'm not sure if he even realized it, but it's true."

When she looked at him, she saw that Curt was with his mouth slightly open, an expression of shock in his face.

"Mandy..."

She raised her hands, asking for silence.

"Just... promise me, Curt. Promise me that you'll take care of him. That you'll support him, but that you'll always stand up to him, because he needs it too."

"Why are you asking me for it?" – Curt finally found his voice – "I'm just a shag. I don't even think that he'll want me around for that long, I'm not like you."

"Just..." – Mandy shook her head – "Promise me, Curt."

"Mandy..."

"Curt, please."

Curt ran a hand for his long hair and sighed.

"I'll warn you that I'm no good at keeping promises, but if it'll make you sleep better at night, yeah, I promise."

Mandy grinned with his answer, feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

She came closer to him and kissed him in the cheek.

"You have no idea what it means. Thank you."

Mandy entered the house again in slow steps, glancing at Curt over her shoulder, just to see the confusion in his face one last time.

**X_X_X**

Mandy was in complete silence; normally, she would be making some joke or talking with someone to distract herself, but the heavy silence in the air seemed too much dense for her to break.

She knew that she would have to intervene in that same day, in the next few minutes, or everything that she spent the last weeks working would be ruined in minutes.

Curt was yelling inside the studio, completely out of it, and Brian had in his face a mix of irritation and shame.

"I can't risk extending his contract, Brian. I think it's quite clear why."

It was in that moment that Mandy swallowed all her insecurities and rose, leaving her heavy pelt in the chair where she was sitting, and said, her voice in the cheerful confident tone that she used to speak.

"Actually, Jerry, I think you'll find that you no longer have authority to do things like this."

She managed to get the attention of everyone in the room then (except for Curt), especially Brian and Jerry's attention.

"What the hell are you talking about?" – Brian asked.

"Little girl, let the grownups take care of it. The legal matters are for me." – Jerry said, his voice in an annoying patronizing tone.

The smile in Mandy's face was more fake now; she hated to be underestimated.

"In normal circumstances, of course, my amateur understanding is that it is necessary the presence of the former manager to pass legal rights like this... but when faced with all the proofs that you were stealing Brian's money and with Brian's signature and mine, the lawyers thought it was enough. I'm Brian's new manager."

When Mandy finished talking, a heavy silence once again reigned in the room, until Brian vocalized his confusion.

"But... I didn't sign anything."

"Yes, you did," – Mandy said, her smile almost mocking him – "You only were too much stoned to notice that you weren't signing a check."

Silence once again.

"That's illegal," – Jerry said, when he seemed to recover his voice.

Mandy scoffed.

"Illegal are you embezzling 40% of Brian's profit to go straight into your pocket, Jerry."

"What?" – Brian immediately reacted.

"You know, I'm just a profiteer American girl, I don't really understand the practical things of this world," – Mandy's voice was full of sarcasm – "So, when I thought that there was something very weird about the papers of the profits from the records and the tour, I called an old friend of mine, Jack Fairy. Jack was fooled by businessmen for several years, until he finally learned to be his own manager, you know? So he managed to give me a tip or two."

"You can't do it!" – Jerry shouted, still not believing in what he was hearing.

"Yes I can. In fact, I already did." – Mandy took her purse, and after a few seconds searching, she found one of the papers that she had put there just in case – "And as you can see, it's all perfectly legal."

Jerry took the papers and read them in a hurry, until he threw it in a desk of the studio.

"Brian, you cannot really be considering it! Boy, I made you a star, and without me you would go back to play in cheap bars and amateur festivals!"

Jerry hadn't even finished speaking and Mandy knew that he had said the worst possible thing for his situation; messing with Brian's pride was never a safe bet, and Mandy saw the fury in his eyes."

"Jerry, get out."

"Brian – "

"I said get out!" – Brian shouted, and after a deep breath, he spoke again, his voice more controlled – "We will talk better, but not here and not now. Just... get out."

Jerry looked as if he was too furious to make a comment, and walked away, the rest of the people in the room following him, leaving Mandy only with Brian (and Curt, still inside the recording studio).

"Mandy, you deceived me." – Brian's eyes were looking coldly at her, but his voice betrayed a little emotion.

Narrowing her eyes, Mandy made a gesture with her head, indicating Curt. He stopped screaming, but he was still walking in circles, looking as if he was a caged tiger.

"You should thank me for that, Brian. Or by now, you would be telling him that he was being fired – and fired by you."

Brian glared at her, but he swallowed at the idea.

"I will explain everything to you, don't worry. But right now? Just talk to him. Try to... I don't know, calm him down. Offer him a blowjob or something." – Brian gave her a sceptical look, and Mandy shrugged – "It's your call. But Brian, I'm going to warn you; you're getting a chance here. Curt was thinking about leaving for days now, and this may as well be his point of no return."

Mandy saw Brian widening his eyes in what seemed like fear of Curt leaving him.

"So, speak carefully. Don't put your foot in your mouth. Talk to him, explain that now I am your manager, and that he'll have freedom to record the album in the way that he wants, not in the way that you think he should do."

"Mandy..."

"I'm leaving you alone, now. I'll wait for you two in home." – With those last words, Mandy picked her coat, putting it up in her arms, and left without looking back.

**X_X_X**

"... and then Jack suggested me some lawyers that could do it without asking questions, but that would still make the whole procedure legal, and that's pretty much it. He's going to stick around for a few weeks, to help me understand how it all works, but that's all."

When Mandy finished telling the story of how she had legally obtained the rights to be Brian's official manager, she was received with silence; Brian had his mouth open in what seemed like shock, and he was frowning, as if he couldn't believe in what he just heard. Curt, in turn, had a pensive expression on his face, looking as if he was pleasantly surprised.

"I can't believe that you did it behind my back." – Brian finally said, sitting more comfortably on his chair.

"Congratulations, Mandy," – Curt said, smiling a little – "You managed to impress me. It's not so common. And you're right, of course."

"How she could be possible right?" – Brian asked petulantly, but he seemed to recoil when Curt glared at his direction; she supposed that Curt hadn't really worked things out with Brian since the fiasco in the studio, no more than an hour ago.

"Maybe 'cause that fucker was stealing from you? Because he was limiting your music? Maybe because she's your fucking wife, and after being married for so long you should try trusting her?"

"Trust her? She manipulated me!" – Brian tried to defend himself.

"If she manipulated you, it was because she learned it from you." – Curt disdained.

"_She_, also known as _the fucking wife_, is sitting right here." – Mandy said very softly, and both Brian and Curt looked sheepishly at her – "And yes, thank you Curt. After living so long with Brian, you can't help but master the art of manipulation."

Brian looked venomously at Mandy, and asked:

"I can make an effort to understand your twisted logic, but just answer me one thing, Mandy: why?"

Mandy took a deep breath, thinking for a few minutes before answering.

"You want some noble reason? I'm sorry to disappoint, but I have none. I did it for myself. I did it because I could see that I was losing you, Bri. It was only a matter of time. And frankly, I don't want to go back to my old life, owning cheap pubs and just making money for the rent and the food. I thought that I needed to find a new role for me in your life. With Jack's help and the proofs that I found against Jerry ended up being the perfect plan."

"I don't understand why Jack would want to help me," – Brian said quietly – "He... well, he doesn't have a lot of reasons to like me."

Curt snorted before opening his mouth again.

"I know that it's hard to believe it, Brian, but the world doesn't spin around your cock. Jack did it for Mandy."

Brian looked offended, but before he could say anything, Mandy said:

"It's true, Brian. Jack and I are long time friends. When I explained my situation, he wanted to help me.

After a few more moments of silence, Curt abruptly jumped to his feet.

"As I said before, congratulations Mandy. You earned it, for putting up with this one here," – he indicated Brian with his head – "for all those years. So, I'm going to crash into my room now, because this day is being too fucking long. And you" – Curt's voice was friendly when he was talking to Mandy, but when he turned to Brian, it became stern and annoyed – "I know you two enough to notice that you both want to talk with each other alone, but don't you fucking dare to take too long. You and I have a hell of a lot to talk, and a cheap promise of different recording sessions and a blowjob aren't enough to put right all this shit for me."

Brian swallowed and looked like he wanted to protest, but seeming to notice the severity in Curt, only nodded. Satisfied, Curt left the room.

After a few moments of silence, Mandy said:

"So you really gave him a blowjob as an apology?"

Brian rolled his eyes, but did not deny.

"Brian, look..." – Mandy started – "I understand why you're pissed. I really do. It does look like a betrayal, like something calculated for years, but I swear that it's not. I was thinking in the best for me, granted, but I was also thinking about what was the best for you."

Brian reclined a little in his chair and sighed.

"I suppose that this situation could have ended in much worse ways... but god, just thinking about talking with Jerry tomorrow, and think about all the pain in the arse that this situation will be..."

"Jack really promised that he would help, so you won't have too much to worry about, Bri, really. But of course, it will inevitable be a nuisance."

Brian just scoffed, and remained quiet for a few seconds, until he softly said:

"Well, even with all this bloody shit that it's going to blow up in my face at some point... thank you Mandy, for taking care of me when I wasn't paying attention, even if it was in your twisted way."

Mandy smiled involuntarily with his words.

"Don't mention it. I always will, if I can..." – she left the words in the air, hesitantly in say the rest, but she felt the need to speak – "But Brian, there are limits for what I can do. I'm not your mother, I'm not a moral example to be followed, but... take it easy with the drugs, yeah? It's really getting out of the hand. And... and take care to not lose Curt. Love it's hard to find and I think that you might have found it with him."

Brian didn't look at Mandy, but she could see how vulnerable his expression became when she mentioned the word love.

"I'm... I'm going to try. What happened today, knowing that Jerry was stealing from me... I should have been paying attention. I need to be more focused on my career, and for that I need to be more sober. And about Curt..."

Brian finally looked at her, his beautiful blue eyes showing much more emotion than the usual.

"I'm scared, Mandy. I never..." – he bit his lip and shook his head – "He really messes with me. We are everything, but we aren't a promising stable couple, but... the idea of him leaving it's much scarier than I would like to admit."

"Then don't let it happen, sweetie. Fight for yourself, and for him. You're on top of the world right now Brian, with fans dropping at your feet and worldwide success, and with someone that you might even love at your side. Don't throw it away."

Brian, for the first time in that night, smiled for real, and Mandy's heart skipped a beat when she saw his illuminated face.

"I won't, not anymore." – Still smiling, he raised and approached her, kissing her almost chastely on the lips "Thank you for everything. Don't get me wrong, we still have a hell of a lot to talk about, like you taking decisions about my life and career without consulting me first, but for now... thank you."

With a tender smile, Mandy watched Brian leaving the room, thinking that the situation ended much better than she thought.

Of course, it wasn't really the end; it was just the beginning, but it as a clearly promissory beginning.

Stretching a little to relax her muscles, Mandy also decided that she should get to her room, to get ready to wake up tomorrow to a new life.

**The End**

**A.N.²:** As you can see, I have no idea about how legal procedures works, so... just pretend that it really is this way, ok? :P

The title it's from the Brian Eno's song, "Dead Finks Don't Talk".


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